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Hay crop good, but quality is down

Ride along with area farmer Kevin Litty as he bales hay in Midway.

Joseph Price, MountainHome 12:17 p.m. CDT June 19, 2014

Rick Cowart loads a bale of hay Wednesday at Marilyn Siering’s farm in Midway. Baxter County Extension Agent Mark Keaton said this year’s crop is being harvested later than usual due to late spring rains.(Photo: Kevin Pieper/The Baxter Bulletin)

The last few summers have had a negative effect on the quantity of hay produced by local farmers, but after a wet May the number is going up. With rain, as it is with other things, too much of a good thing can have a negative impact. Even though the wet spring has helped farmers rebound with the hay crop, its sheer amount prevented them from cutting on time. Thus, while the numbers look good and farmers are benefiting, having the cuts delayed have had some negative effects.

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Rick Cowart loads a bale of hay Wednesday at Marilyn Sierling’s farm in Midway. Baxter County Extension Agent Mark Keaton said this year’s crop is being harvested later than usual due to late spring rains. Kevin Pieper/The Baxter Bulletin

Bales of hay sit in a field in Midway on Wednesday. Baxter County Extension Agent Mark Keaton said this year’s crop is being harvested later than usual due to late spring rains. Kevin Pieper/The Baxter Bulletin

Rick Cowart loads a bale of hay Wednesday at Marilyn Sierling’s farm in Midway. Baxter County Extension Agent Mark Keaton said this year’s crop is being harvested later than usual due to late spring rains. Kevin Pieper/The Baxter Bulletin

Rick Cowart loads a bale of hay Wednesday at Marilyn Sierling’s farm in Midway. Baxter County Extension Agent Mark Keaton said this year’s crop is being harvested later than usual due to late spring rains. Kevin Pieper/The Baxter Bulletin

Bales of hay sit in a field in Midway on Wednesday. Baxter County Extension Agent Mark Keaton said this year’s crop is being harvested later than usual due to late spring rains. Kevin Pieper/The Baxter Bulletin

Rick Cowart loads a bale of hay Wednesday at Marilyn Sierling’s farm in Midway. Baxter County Extension Agent Mark Keaton said this year’s crop is being harvested later than usual due to late spring rains. Kevin Pieper/The Baxter Bulletin

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"With the rain a lot of them didn't get the chance to cut until this past weekend," Baxter County Extension Agent Mark Keaton told The Bulletin. "A lot of hay is going to be put up in the next few days."

According to Keaton, the rain and delay have helped June's hay crop go up in quantity, but it has also declined in quality.

"Hay is producing more, but not as good quality because it's mature," Keaton said. "The grass has really grown due to rain and is ready to cut again."

Marilyn Siering, who owns farms in Midway and Salem, said that the rain delay had caused the crop to get overripe, almost leading to the plants to seed out. She already is considering seeding again for cuts later in the season..

"I don't have to buy any this year," Siering said. "What happens is the seeding that goes to the top is what you want because the cows love that."

In 2010, Siering produced 376 bales of hay in two cuts. In 2011, that dropped to 264 in two cuts. In 2012, it dropped yet again to 184 bales in two cuts. Then, 2013 saw it drop to 110 with only one cut.

This was the first cut of 2014 at her farm and it produced 153 bales, which already is an increase in over last year's cut. A second cut will be taken later in the year, and if she matches the first cut, she will surpass the 2011 and 2012 totals as well. With this rebound, there is some recovery from the years long drought that the region endured.

This has been the pattern with many other farmers in the region who suffered through the years of drought.

"It looks like with the rain predictions that we'll get a little more rain and that will give the chance for a second cutting and maybe a good haul," Siering said.

With the possibility of an El Nino later in the year, it's possible that the respite from drought may come to an end with hotter-than-normal weather.

Siering uses what she grows to feed her cattle, which she keeps on land in Fulton County. Because the hay is the bottom of the food chain, the lower crop meant she would have to buy hay to maintain her herd. She also culled some of the cattle that were nonproductive to balance out the lack of hay. This year she will be able to feed all of her cattle with what she grows.

Aside from the drought, Siering and other farmers had another problem in those dry years: Army worm caterpillars.

"We had them last year and the year before," said Rick Cowart, Siering's ranch foreman. "Hopefully we don't have them so much this year."

Army worm caterpillars thrive in drought years. There are two varieties, true army worm and fall army worm, and they feed on hay and other crops, competing with cattle for food. Because of their sheer number, army worms are highly destructive pests. When they reach adulthood, both varieties become moths.

"It was already getting ripe," Kevin Litty, another area farmer, said as he rode through a field of cut hay in a baler. "We cut it Saturday, and it got wet Sunday, so it kind of threw us behind."

Like other farmers, he has mixed feelings about the hay.

"Quality wise, it's not the greatest," Litty said. "But we have to bale it."

SIERING hay PRODUCTION

376

bales in two cuts in 2010

264

bales in two cuts in 2011

184

bales in two cuts in 2012

110

bales in one cut in 2013

153 bales

already an increase over last year's cut.

A second cut will be taken later in the year, and if it matches the first cut, it will surpass the 2011 and 2012 totals as well.